Well drilling machine slide tool guide



a; P "a 9 mph 437, LWDQ w. COMFORT WELL DRILLING MACHINE sum: TOOL. GUIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 9?, 1957 Himm W- Cam fan IN VEN TOR.

Sept. 27, 1960 H. w. COMFORT WELL DRILLING MACHINE SLIDE TOOL GUIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 9, 1957 R M "M 01 m B c M w Va .m N H Sept. 27, 1960 H. w. COMFORT WELL DRILLING MACHINE SLIDE TOOL GUIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 9, 1957 Hiram W- Cam for! INVEN TOR.

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United States Patent 2,954,210 WELL DRILLING MACHINE SLIDE TOOL GUIDE Hiram W. Comfort, Rte. 2, Montgomery, N.Y. Filed Sept. 9', 1957, Ser. No. 682,831

7 Claims. (Cl. 255-2) This invention comprises a novel and useful well drilling machine slide tool guide and more particularly relates to a guide means adapted for use witha portable drilling rig to provide a guide means for a drilling tool.

The principal purpose of this invention is to provide an improved guide construction for eifectively slidably guiding a drill tool as the same is withdrawn from or lowered into a bore drilled by the tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide a guiding device in accordance with the foregoing object which shall be capable of easy lateral adjustment with respect to a support mast of a drilling rig for vertically guiding the drilling tool despite varying inclinations of the surface of the ground.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a guide assembly in accordance 'with the preceding objects which shall be readily mounted upon a portable drilling mast.

A still further and more specific object of the invention is to provide a guide assembly in accordance with the above mentioned objects whereby the guidemeans shall be mounted upon the mast of a drilling rig in an improved manner and shall be capableof sliding adjustment relative thereto.

And a final important object of the invention to be more specifically enumerated herein resid'es in theprovision of a guiding assembly asset forth in the preceding object as well as the previously mentioned objects wherein there is provided means for effectively latching I the guide means to its mounting means in adjusted position, and for readily releasing the latch means by remote control means to permit the guiding member to move to its next position of adjustment.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein 7 Figure 3 is a fragmentary elevational view taken on an enlarged scale of a portion of Figure 2 and showing more clearly the structure and mounting of the guide means together with the latch mechanism for controlling adjustment of the same;

Figure 4 is a horizontal section-a1 detail view taken 4-4 of Figure 3;

t 2 Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 and showingpartly in top plan and partly in horizontal section the slidable guide and its mounting means;

t Figure 6 is a detail view in vertical section taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 6-6 of Figure '4;

; a part of the slidable guide; and

Figure 12 is a vertical sectional detail view taken substantially upon the plane indicated by the section line 12-12 of Figure 1.

1 In drilling bores in the earth by portable drilling .equipment, especially that equipment of a collapsible nature adapted to be carried by a motor truck or the like, difficulty' is encountered in properly vertically positioning the drill bit or other drilling tools as the same are lowered into contact with the ground or are withdrawn from the bore. This condition is especiallyvprevalent when the drilling is performed on uneven terrain. and upon'surfaces of various inclinations with respect to the horizontal. It is with a portable apparatus of this nature that the guide assembly forming the subject mat-ter of this invenion is especially applicable and de-' signed.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, it will be seen that a portable drilling rig to which the principles of this invention have been applied includes any conventional form of truck 10 having a supporting mast 12 which is pivotally mounted upon a suitable supporting framework 14 upon the truck as by horizontal pivot pins 16 whereby the m-ast may be pivoted vertically about these pins between a substantially horizontal folded position for transportation by the truck as shown in Figure l, or

may be moved to, a vertical position as shown in Figure 2 in preparation for a drilling operation. In the latter position, suitable brace members 18 are provided to secure the mast. 12 in vertically erect position in a rigid manner, it being understood that these brace members 7 are removed when it is desired to collapse and fold the mas-t to its stored position of Figure 1. t

The drill rig further includes a crown pulley 19 carried by the top of the mast and over which is entrained a drilling cable 20 to one end of which may be secured a drill bit 22 or other tool and at its other end is operatively connected to any suitable power operating means wherebythe drill bit or tool may be vertically reciprocated.

Designated generally'by the numeral 24 is a guide as- "sembly forming the subject matter of this invention which is secured and supported by the mast 12 and is adjustable laterally with respect thereto and which cooperates with the tool 22 for guiding the latter in its vertical travel.

Referring now primarily to Figures 3, 4v and 5 it will be seen that the mast 12 consists of a pair of parallel substantially upon the plane indicated by section line beams or channel members 26 having fiat outer surfaces, and that the guide assembly 24 is supported upon these outer surfaces. The guide assembly includes mounting means in the form of a pair of flat plates 28, see Fig- 7 um 10, which are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the outer surfaces of the mast members 26, and which. project transversely and laterally thereof. Upon their inner surfaces, at the lower and upper edges of the same, these mounting plates are provided with parallel rails or barsiil) and 32 which constitute-a guide means for that the sliding frame 34 of the guide assembly comprises.

arigid open frame consisting of a pair of side plates which are rigidly connected adjacent one end. as by a transverse web 40, forming a brace, and are rigidly connected at their other end asv by the V-shaped bail 42,.

welded to the side plates, and constituting a handle for imparting sliding movement to the same as set forth hereinafter.

The upper and lower edges of the plates 38 are snugly and' slidably received between the upper and lower rails or bars 39 and 32 as shown in Figure 3, whereby these mounting plates 28 will mount and support the sliding frame. 34 and guide the same for sliding movement transversely of and laterally with respect to the mast 12.

Upon their upper edge and extending inwardly of the plates 38 from the handle 42 are a series of longitudinally spaced notches 44. These notches are positioned in aligned pairs upon opposite sides of the sliding frame 34 and provide a series of latch recesses for selectively locking the sliding frame in lateral adjustment relative to the mounting plates 28 and the mast 12 by a means to be subsequently; set forth.

At its opposite end from the handle 42, the slid-ing frame 34 has a semi-cylindrical guide bushing section 46 having outwardly flaring upper and lower surfaces 48 and 50, respectively, this bushing section being supported upon laterally directed webs 52 carried by the side plates 38 and extending towards each other. The webs engage the bushing section between the end flaring portions thereof as shown best in Figure 8. A complementary removable bearing section 54, see Figure 11 in conjunction with Figure 5, cooperates with the first mentioned section 46 to provide a circular guide bushing. The removable. section 54 has oppositely directed arms 56 and 58 secured thereto, one arm such as the arm 58 being pivoted as at 60 to a cylindrical tubular boss 62 at the end of a plate 38, while the other arm has a locking sleeve 64 thereon which is releasably locked to a similar tubular sleeve 66 on the other plate 38, as by detachable locking pin 68, see Figure 4 and Figure 5. Thus, the movable section 54 is hingedly carried by the sliding frame 34 and may be opened or closed to admit and retain the drilling cable 20 or the drilling tool 22 therein. As will be best seen from Figure 7, the webs 40 previously mentioned engage and are secured to the fixed guide bushing section 46 to rigidly secure the same to the sliding frame.

Cooperating with the latch recesses 44 previously mentioned is a latch bar 70, see Figure 9 in particular, having inturned extremities 72 each welded or fixedly secured to a lever 74. The latter in turn at their extremities remote from the latch bar 70 are provided with apertures 76'by which they are journaled upon hinge or pivot pins 78 carried by the rails 30 of the mounting plates 36 adjacent one end of the latter. Cotter pins or the like 80 extend through bores in these pins 78 in order to retain the latch lever arms thereon.

Intermediate the latch bar 70 is provided with a ring 82 to which one end of a latch release cable 84 is secured, this cable being entrained over a pulley assembly 86 mounted upon the mast 12. The cable provides a remote control means whereby the operator may disengage the latch bar 70 by lifting the same upwardly about its pivotal hinge pins 78.

From the foregoing, it is believed that. the operation of the guide assembly and its latch mechanism will now be readily apparent. Regardless of the inclination of the mast 12 with. respect to the horizontal plane, as suggested in Figure 3, the drilling cable 20 and the drill tool 22 carried thereby will tend to hang vertically. This will cause the cable to be displaced from the side of the mast as shown in Figure 3. The guide section 54 is opened to permit the cable and/or the drill tool to be disposed within the two guide sections after which the guide sectoin is closed and locked by the pin 68. It will be observed that; the tendency of the cable with the weight at the end thereof. will tend to cause the guide assembly 34 to shift or'slide laterally in the guide rails 30 and 32 of the mounting plates 38 until the guide sections are in vertical alignment with the cable 20. At this time,

under its own weight, the=latchbar 70' will tend to drop into the adjacent latch recesses 44 disposed therebeneath, thereby locking the device in adjusted position. If for any reason it is necessary to change the inclination of the mast 12, which will thereby necessitate a readjustment,

of the sliding guide assembly, it is merely necessary for the operator upon the ground to actuate the latch release cable 84, to thus lift the latch out of the latch notches, and permit the thrust of the cable 20 upon the sliding frame 34 to laterally adjust the latter to a proper position of alignment, whereupon the latch bar may be again engaged. It will be observed that this means also enables the sliding frame to be completely retracted when the mast is moved into a truly vertical position in prepara tion for folding the same upon the framework 14 as shown in Figure 1.

At this point it should be observed that a clamping or brace means, shown in Figures 1 and 12 may be employed' to securely retain the drill tool 22 fixedly upon the mast when the latter is in its folded position. For this purpose the support block 90, carried by the side of frame members 26 of the mast 12 extends laterally therefrom and has a seatingrecess 92 in its outer surface. A clampingblock 94 having a complementary recess 96 cooperates with the block 'and is clamped thereagainst as by the fastening bolts 98. Thus, the tool is securely clamped against the mast by the locking means of Figure 12 way under the tool and by engagement of the tool in the guide sections adjacent its other end.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A tool guidefor a drilling rig having a mast, a drilling cable operatively supported by said mast and carrying a drill tool comprising; a stationary guide means fixedly secured to said mast and projecting laterally therefrom,

a movable guide frame slidably mounted in said stationary guide means for rectilinear, guided sliding movement, a guide bushing mounted upon said movable guide frame for free tilting thereon, a latch bar pivotal upon said stationary guide means above said movable guide frame, latch notches on said movable frame selectively receiving therein said latch bar for locking said movable guide frame in adjusted position upon said stationary guide means.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said guide 4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said movable guide frame includes a pair of parallel side walls slidably and guidably embraced by said stationary guide means together with integral end members each extending across the ends of said side walls, said guide bushing being integrally carried by one of said end members.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said latch notches comprise recesses in the upper surfaces of said side walls in longitudinally spaced relation thereon.

6. The combination of claim 1 wherein said stationary guide means comprises a pair of mounting plates each rigidly secured to the exterior surface of said mast, said movable guide frame including side members slidably disposed each between one of said mounting plates and said mast, pins projecting outwardly :from said mounting plates, said latch bar being journaled upon said pins.

7. The combination of claim 6 wherein each mounting plate has rails secured to the upper and lower edges thereof and abutting the side of said mast, said rails constituting guide members for said movable guide frame and spacers for the mounting plates on said mast.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

